Fête de la Science 2024 at École polytechnique: tours, workshops and escape game on the program

Workshop 1: acoustics
With the acoustics workshop, discover sound and its characteristics by carrying out a simple experiment to build a recording microphone.
For children aged 8 to 11.
Places limited.
Workshop 2: Sadi Carnot and thermodynamics
How does a thermal machine work? How is heat transformed into work? Thermodynamics studies these energy exchanges. In this workshop, try your hand at simple experiments to discover and understand this science. A guided tour of the Mus'X temporary exhibition based on Sadi Carnot's seminal text Réflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu (1824).
Open to all.
Limited number of places.

Today's research for tomorrow's energy
Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels is an environmental, human and geopolitical challenge that researchers have been addressing for many years. This exhibition, presented by the Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory (PMC) as part of the Year of Physics, showcases the work of several Palaiseau and Orsay research laboratories in this field.

Alan Turing: from formal language to living forms
You've probably heard of Alan Turing, the German code-breaker during the Second World War and the father of computer science. But did you know that the Enigma code he deciphered dates back to the 15th century? That Alan Turing worked on the first neural networks? That he was the first biomathematician, equating the formation of patterns in nature (cheetah spots, hydra tentacles, etc.)? That he imagined a computer so advanced in the 1940s that its concepts were not realized until 50 years later?
Through an interactive exhibition, experiments, manipulations and workshops, discover the richness and eclecticism of the work of one of science's last polymaths.

Escape-game: in the abysses of the X lake
Use light in all its facets to solve the enigma of the abysses of the École polytechnique lake and emerge unscathed from this Escape-game for families and friends.

2:30 pm - The invisible ocean - by Hannu Myllykallio
The majority of the earth's surface is covered by oceans, which form a major habitat for living beings. These living beings are mainly invisible microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, protists) and viruses. Discover how DNA sequencing has enabled the identification of ocean microbes that play a crucial role in several cycles essential to life on Earth. Meet a tiny photosynthetic marine bacterium that alone produces up to 20% of the oxygen present in the biosphere.
15h15 - The unexpected discovery of "the enzyme of immortality" - by Jean-Louis Mergny
Research into telomeres (the ends of our chromosomes) and telomerase (the machinery that maintains them) began with the study of ciliates, single-celled organisms of no medical or economic interest. Telomeres and telomerase play a key role in cancer and certain genetic diseases, proving that basic research can have unexpected applications! The conference will feature portraits of two great biology researchers: Barbara McClintock (Nobel 1983) and Elizabeth Blackburn (Nobel 2009).

4pm - Alan Turing, pioneer of AI? - by Jean-René Chazottes
Can we attribute intelligence to a machine created by man? Although this question has long been explored in myths, legends and by science fiction writers, it was Alan Turing who broached the subject in 1950 in an article entitled "Computing machines and intelligence".
4:45pm - The Cosmic Ocean - by Deirdre Horan
Travel across the Universe to discover where the most powerful objects in the cosmic ocean are located. On this odyssey, you'll encounter black holes, neutron stars, supernova remnants and gamma-ray bursts, among others. You'll explore these cosmic species to better understand the very high-energy Universe and what scientists discover when they observe it in gamma rays.
5:30pm - The Sun: when it sneezes, the Earth catches a cold - by Tahar Amari
Discover how our star's mood swings, and solar flares in particular, impact human activities.

CMAP - Centre de mathématiques appliqués
What's mathematics all about?
We don't always realize it, but mathematics is omnipresent in everyday life. It is the language of science and industry, and its formidable efficiency in this field is perhaps a revelation of its profound nature. Powerfully aided by computers, they can now be considered, alongside the microscope and the telescope, as a virtual optical instrument that reveals new and mysterious aspects of our Universe every day.
Departures: 2pm, 3pm and 4pm

LULI - Laboratoire pour l'utilisation des lasers intenses
What can you do with an ultra-powerful laser?
From atoms to stars, LULI lets you discover how an intense laser reveals the universe of optics, laboratory astrophysics and hot plasma physics.
Departures: 2pm, 3pm and 4pm

LOA - Laboratoire d'optique appliquée
Drawing in space and time with lasers
By concentrating all the energy of a laser in a very small point of space and in a very brief instant, its light beam becomes so intense that it transforms all matter into plasma and accelerates electrons to the speed of light. To achieve this, LOA scientists are able to control the laser pulses over time, giving them the most appropriate shape. Now it's your turn, using an algorithm, to control the shape of your laser beam and give it the shape you want.
Departures: 2.15pm, 3.15pm and 4.15pm

UME - Unité de mécanique
The micro-wonders of the sea
Visit the mechanical testing hall and watch a demonstration using a scanning electron microscope. You'll also discover the tools used to delve into the physics and microstructure of metallic materials and polymers (those large molecules composed of repeating patterns, such as proteins, starch, etc.).
Departures: 2.15pm, 3.15pm and 4.15pm

OMEGA
Microelectronics for particle physics
To miniaturize their data acquisition systems and process the signals from their sensors, large particle physics detectors have very specific needs for integrated circuits. Some of these circuits, known as "readout circuits", are designed at the OMEGA Laboratory before being manufactured in large semiconductor plants. Take a look at these circuits, understand the steps involved in their design and validation, and understand the constraints involved in their development.
Departures: 2:15pm, 3:15pm and 4:15pm

LOB - Laboratory of Optics and Biosciences
Observing the invisible part of life
How can we understand the life of microscopic organisms invisible to the naked eye? How are the cells that make up our brains organized? and many other scientific questions... To find the answers, take a dive into the heart of the Optics and Biosciences Laboratory and discover the different biological and microscopy equipment and computer tools used by researchers.
Departures: 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30 pm

LLR - Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet
LHC: the saga continues
While the world's largest and most powerful particle gas pedal has just returned to service, researchers at the Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet (LLR) are already working on its future. Visit the LLR and discover the innermost mysteries of the Universe.
Departures: 2:30pm, 3:30pm and 4:30pm

SIRTA - Site instrumental de recherche par télédétection atmosphérique
Observing the atmosphere with SIRTA
Temperature, pressure, clouds, aerosols...with 150 instruments scanning and studying the atmosphere, nothing escapes the eyes of SIRTA. Take a tour of the observatory and discover the diversity of its instruments. See demonstrations of emblematic instruments and discover the photovoltaic platforms installed on the site.
Departures: 2:45pm, 3:45pm and 4:45pm

PMC - Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory
See the scientific process in action in a physics-chemistry laboratory. You'll observe an original microscopy experiment, specifically developed to study the materials used in low-energy lighting and display devices based on light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
Departures: 2.45pm, 3.45pm and 4.45pm

Welcome to the Institut Polytechnique de Paris!
The laboratories of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris) invite you to join them on Saturday October 5 for the Fête de la Science 2024.
Researchers and staff from IP Paris' Écoles* laboratories, in partnership with CNRS and Inria, welcome you to the Grand Hall of the École Polytechnique to share their curiosity and passion for science.
Together, plunge into an "Ocean of Knowledge", discovering a host of astonishing scientific universes, from elementary particles to clouds and beyond! Decoding DNA, understanding solar energy, or learning who computer pioneer Alan Turing was: here's just a sample of the topics you can explore.
Stands, children's workshops, laboratory visits, lectures and even an escape-game: a wide range of activities are on offer to encourage the exchanges that have been the essence of the Fête de la Science since its inception.
* École polytechnique, ENSTA Paris, École nationale des ponts et chaussées, ENSAE Paris, Télécom Paris, Télécom SudParis